Washington, DC – August 29 , 2011 – OutServe, the association of LGBT military personnel announced three exciting changes for the 3rd edition of the OutServe Magazine, which will be released September 20, 2011:

1) The magazine has launched an interactive website at: www.outservemag.com where readers comment, share articles by Facebook and Twitter, and order both digital and print versions of the magazine. The website will also feature exclusive videos and member blogs not found in the print edition.

2) Additionally, OutServe Magazine has received approval to be distributed on Air Force and Army bases, and will be releasing the magazine in limited Air Force and Army base exchanges beginning next edition. Specific locations are not being disclosed at this time.

3) Finally, the upcoming September 20th Repeal Issue of the magazine will honor the gay, lesbian, and bisexual men and women who have proudly served their nation by featuring pictures and bios of nearly 100 OutServe members.

“This marks an incredible time in the history of our military. Gay, lesbian, and bisexual servicemembers once had to conceal their true identities. By featuring their pictures and their stories, we are signaling that time has passed. It is time for these military members to be honored for their extraordinary commitment and sacrifice in defense of our country,” said JD Smith, co-director of OutServe who goes by a pseudonym while DADT is still in effect.”

“OutServe Magazine will continue to expand over the next few months as DADT ends and we enter a new proud era of military history,” said J. Mills, executive editor of the magazine. “We cannot adequately express our gratitude to the military community and distributors who have been very supportive of OutServe Magazine.”

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OutServe is the association of actively-serving LGBT military personnel. With over 4,000 members and 42 chapters worldwide, it is the one of the largest LGBT employee resource groups in the world. OutServe works to support a professional network of LGBT military personnel and create an environment of respect in the military with regard to sexual orientation and gender identity.

By Franco Ordoñez, The Charlotte Observer

COLUMBIA, S.C. — In less than four weeks, openly gay men and women will be able to serve in the U.S. military.

At Fort Jackson, it's Capt. Guy Allsup's job to ensure that recruits in Charlie Company now realize a soldier is a soldier: gay or straight.

On Monday, the 29-year-old Charlotte Country Day graduate walked 231 nervous basic training recruits through scenarios.

Soldiers won't be asked their sexual orientation. After Sept. 20, they won't be kicked out of the armed services simply for acknowledging they are gay. Hand-holding and other forms of public affection on base won't be tolerated. That goes for a guy and girl, or a guy and a guy.

"Does anybody think that this is going to be a drastic change for deployed soldiers?" Allsup called out to the group.

"Sexual orientation has nothing to do with our mission, sir," he said.

"I'll buy that," replied Allsup.

Sessions like these are happening at military bases across the Carolinas, the U.S., and in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Pentagon says it has already trained more than 2 million men and women in uniform.

The 18-year-old policy expires after years of emotionally charged debate about whether gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve in the military. Some troops say the repeal could be a distraction on the battlefield; others contend it violates their personal and religious beliefs.

Interviews last week with troops at Fort Jackson in South Carolina, and Fort Bragg and Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, reflect the mix of emotions about ending "don't ask, don't tell."

About 14,000 gay service members have been discharged since "don't ask, don't tell" was enacted in 1993. But in 23 days, gays and lesbians will no longer have to hide their sexual orientation or pretend they're straight.

They will still lack some benefits. Gay couples will not be eligible to live in family housing or receive health benefits for their partners because of the federal Defense of Marriage Act passed in 1996.

Pvt. Brandon Eleby, 19, of Durham, was raised by his godmother, who is gay. He echoed other recruits, who said the change is less dramatic for their generation, which has grown up with a more high-profile gay community.

"I never saw it as a big deal," said Eleby, who graduated this spring from Hillside High School.

Allsup, a UNC Charlotte graduate, served 14 months in Iraq. While stationed in Sadr City, one of the most dangerous parts of Baghdad, Allsup said a member of his unit came out to him.

Stratton Pollitzer, right, deputy director of Equality Florida, on Sunday received the Harvey B. Milk Foundation Medal award for "tireless work on behalf of the LGBT community." Milk's nephew, Stuart Milk of Fort Lauderdale, presented the medal and a plaque to Pollitzer at Yuca restaurant on Lincoln Road.

Pollitzer was joined at the lunch by his husband, Christopher Boykin, and his parents.

Click the picture to view a gallery from the luncheon. Photos by STEVE ROTHAUS / Miami Herald Staff.

The Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (MDGLCC) in collaboration with Community Partners will hold its 1st “Symposium on Aging” with the objective to educate and explore the needs of the LGBT community.

Associated Press

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- A Puerto Rico lawmaker has resigned following reports that explicit photos of him surfaced on Grindr, an iPhone application for gays and bisexuals, the head of the U.S. territory's Senate announced Sunday.

Sen. Roberto Arango, a Republican who represents the capital of San Juan for the island's governing party, presented his letter of resignation after a weekend meeting, Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz said.

Schatz did not release the lawmaker's letter, but said the circumstances that led to the resignation "are very lamentable."

Local news media published photos from the application showing a man's nude upper body with a cell phone obscuring his face. Another photo showed a rear view of a nude man on his hands and knees. Another showed a fuzzy image of a face that seemed to match Arango's.

Arango has neither confirmed nor denied suggestions by local media that the photos might be of him and apparently was not asked if he had posted them. During a recent interview with WAPA TV in Puerto Rico, the senator said he has taken pictures of himself with a cell phone to document his recent weight loss.

"I really don't remember having taken those pictures of myself, but it doesn't mean I didn't take them," he told the station. "I really don't remember."

Arango did not return calls Sunday.

A graduate of Louisiana State University and a food importer before turning to politics, he was chairman of a business council for the national Republican Party and municipal director of the Republican Party in Puerto Rico, according to his Web page for Puerto Rico's Senate.

Pedro Julio Serrano, founder of the gay rights group Puerto Rico for Everyone, said Arango voted in favor of Resolution 99, a proposal that would block any attempt to permit same-sex marriages in the U.S. territory. He also helped block a measure to ban sexual discrimination in the workplace and opposed adoption rights for gays.

"This isn't a moment to kick someone when he's down, but I have to denounce Sen. Roberto Arango's complicity with a fundamentalist agenda that promotes the exclusion and marginalization of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people," Serrano said Sunday.

Local news media said that the pictures first appeared on an iPhone application for gays and bisexuals and that they themselves later received copies from unidentified sources.

In recent days, Puerto Rican Gov. Luis Fortuno had said that if the man was indeed a legislator, he should resign. That echoed the sentiments of other lawmakers, including local House Speaker Jenniffer Gonzalez.

Washington – The co-chairs of the Human Rights Campaign Board of Directors and the HRC Foundation Board today announced that HRC President Joe Solmonese has informed the boards that he will not renew his contract which expires March 31, 2012. Solmonese will remain at the helm of the organization until the completion of his contract to ensure a smooth leadership transition.

At the same time, the co-chairs announced the formation of a search committee to be co-chaired by board members Joni Madison of Hillsborough, N.C., and Dana Perlman of Los Angeles.

"Joe Solmonese is an outstanding leader," said Anne Fay who co-chairs the Foundation Board of Directors with Andy Linsky. "While we will miss his extraordinary leadership, we enter this next phase, thanks to Joe, in the best place the organization has ever been. Not only has our community secured historic victories, but our membership is larger and more active than at any time in our history, and our financial health is secure even in these difficult economic times."

"From the repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell', to the recent passage of marriage equality in New York, Joe has made sure that HRC is an effective and strategic force for positive change," said Tim Downing, who co-chairs the HRC Board of Directors with Rebecca Tillet. "Over the course of his tenure, he's set the tone for delivering real reform that matters in peoples' everyday lives."

"Leading HRC has been an inspiring experience and a complete privilege," said Solmonese. "I could not be more proud of our staff, our volunteer leadership and of the extraordinary progress we've made together as a community."

Solmonese's leadership has taken the organization from 750,000 members and supporters to more than 1,000,000. Additionally, he oversaw significant expansion of HRC's public education and outreach programs including the launch of the Healthcare Equality index, a more robust Religion and Faith Program and wider reach and success of the Corporate Equality Index. The HRC Foundation also launched the Welcoming Schools program to address family diversity, gender stereotyping, bullying and name calling in schools, as well as the All Children All Families initiative that helps open up adoption agencies to prospective LGBT parents. The grassroots field operation also expanded – most recently mounting the largest state-level campaign in LGBT movement history resulting in the passage of marriage equality in New York.

When Solmonese began at HRC in 2005, the organization was fighting the Federal Marriage Amendment and now marriage equality is a reality in six states and the District of Columbia with more within sight. Under Solmonese's leadership we saw the passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, the repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' and numerous administrative changes from gender identity non-discrimination policies for federal workers to reversing the HIV travel ban to ensuring that equal visitation in federally funded hospitals. Read more on the community's record of success during Solmonese's tenure.

"HRC has never been stronger and after nearly seven years, this is the right moment for me to move on," said Solmonese. "As I explore new professional possibilities, I plan on continuing to pour my heart and soul into improving the lives of members of our community – from battling proposed marriage amendments to creating more equitable workplaces to ensuring the President Obama is reelected for a second term."

The four volunteer board co-chairs will work with the search committee co-chairs in selecting the full committee as well as securing an executive search firm to assist the organization.

"From the beginning, we asked Joe to give us six months of transition when he decided to leave and he's done that," said Tillet. "We have every confidence that we will find and engage a new leader within that timeframe."

The Human Rights Campaign is America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.

Associated Press

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Explicit pictures that surfaced this week of a man who many have speculated is a local senator have led to calls that he resign if the allegations can be proved.

Local news media reported that the pictures first appeared on Grindr, a mobile network application for gays and bisexuals, and that they themselves later received copies from unidentified sources.

Sen. Roberto Arango, who represents the capital of San Juan in the U.S. territory's Congress, did not categorically confirm or deny the photos are of him during an interview with WAPA TV earlier this week.

"I really don't remember having taken those pictures of myself, but it doesn't mean I didn't take them," he said. "I really don't remember."

Arango, who is single, said he has taken pictures of himself with a cell phone as he continues to lose weight.

He did not return calls for comment Saturday.

One picture depicts a nude torso and is reminiscent of images that led to the resignation of U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner of New York and a county legislator in New Jersey earlier this year. The other pictures, taken from behind, show a nude man on his hands and knees.

Puerto Rican Gov. Luis Fortuno has said that if the man is indeed a legislator, he should resign, echoing the sentiments of other lawmakers, including local House of Representatives Speaker Jenniffer Gonzalez.

On Friday, Senator Carlos Javier Torres said in an interview with Radio Isla that the Senate ethics committee he leads will discuss the pictures in its meeting next week. He called the images worrisome and said they have caused great discomfort to many.

The committee is not launching an investigation into the pictures, however, his spokeswoman, Wanda Nazario, told The Associated Press later Friday. She said Torres was not immediately available for comment, and she didn't return calls for comment on Saturday.

Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz said anyone is welcome to file a complaint if they have concrete information about the man's identity, but he reiterated that he will not call for an investigation himself.

The two fired Miami Beach police officers who allegedly beat and wrongly arrested two gay men in 2009 say they are the victims of politics and deserve their jobs back.

Frankly Forte and Eliut Hazzi filed grievances last week with the city, demanding that they be reinstated with back pay. “The investigation was unfair and tainted with bias from the outset,” both men wrote in city documents filed Aug. 17-18.

Controversy has surrounded the former officers since early 2010, when former South Beach resident Harold Strickland went public with accusations that Forte and Hazzi were beating another gay man in Flamingo Park in March 2009 and then arrested Strickland when he called 911 to report the incident.

The officers charged both Oscar Daniel Mendoza and Strickland with loitering and prowling, saying the men were suspiciously walking around the park and trying to get into parked cars at around 1 a.m. Mendoza was also charged with resisting arrest. Prosecutors dropped all charges.

Strickland, who now lives in California and at the time was in town on business, said he had just left a gay club and was near 15th Street and Michigan Avenue en route to see his old home when he saw Forte and Hazzi beating Mendoza.

Strickland called 911 and said the officers were kicking Mendoza in the head like “a football” before the officers stopped him and the line went dead.

Strickland filed a lawsuit, which the city settled for $75,000 while firing the two officers Aug. 1. The former officers could not be reached for comment Friday.

Sgt. Alejandro Bello, president of the city’s police union, said Strickland’s story of what happened that night is full of holes.

He said Mendoza’s mug shot shows that he had no injuries to his face. He also questioned Strickland’s story that he wanted to see his old home and Mendoza’s statements that he was searching for his dog’s missing collar after a quick walk.

Bello also said Miami Beach politicians influenced the officers’ firings and noted that both Strickland and Mendoza have been arrested near Flamingo Park in the past and accused of involvement in illegal sex acts.

Mendoza was arrested in 2007 for lewd and lascivious behavior and accused of having oral sex with a man in a stranger’s backyard in the 900 block of 15th Street. The charges were dropped.

Strickland was accused of loitering and prowling in 1998 after he allegedly watched several men masturbate in a West Avenue alleyway. His attorney, Ray Taseff, said the 1998 arrest was a case of “wrong place, wrong time” and said a city magistrate acquitted Strickland in the case, which does not show up in court or criminal records.

Bello said neither man is credible.

“They have a prior history of being in the park for lewd activity and prior arrests for the same. On top of that, Harold Strickland pled out the case.”

Strickland, whose initial plea of no contest was reversed after the American Civil Liberties Union took up his case, declined to comment.

Taseff said Strickland stands by his story, and says Mendoza may have been kicked somewhere other than his head during the chaotic moments. City documents state that Mendoza gave Internal Affairs investigators pictures of his injuries.

Taseff predicted Forte and Hazzi’s grievances “will go nowhere.”

Hazzi and Forte were the third and fourth Miami Beach officers fired this summer.

The other two former officers, Derick Kuilan and Rolando Gutierrez, lost their jobs last month after an investigation found they were drinking and partying with women at a South Beach hotel before Kuilan went on an ATV joyride with a bachelorette and crashed into two people, seriously injuring them.

Kuilan — who faces criminal charges — and Gutierrez have also filed grievances and demanded they be reinstated. Kuilan says he was illegally blood-tested; Gutierrez has said he was wrongly forced to take a breath-alcohol test.